God this game was a lot more intense than you realized. Even you were on the edge of the table, towering over Erica. You two had a pact; you'd blow on the dice for a good roll. You only did it every now and then so the 'luck wouldn't run out'. Pursing your lips together, you gasped as Eddie revealed who they were fighting. Vecna! Someone they apparently had thought was dead.
It was an absolute slaughter, with only two players left alive. Erica, because of your luck, and Dustin, not entirely sure how-
"Time out, time out, time out!" One of the other men screamed. You let out a breath, rubbing the back of your head. As the night had continued, you felt more comfortable to talk to Munson, slowly approaching as the others huddled.
"You're really giving them a workout, huh?"
He smiled, leaning his head on his fists, "Well, I make it my trademark to never let a battle be easy, y/n."
"Clearly," You laughed, leaning over him to see his battle plans. They were well thought out, making you whistle. "How long did this take you to set up? Dustin tells me he takes hours on his."
"Ah, you know Henderson well?" He dodged the question, looking up at you. Trying your best to not stare into his chocolate eyes, you shrugged.
"Well enough. I did just buy y'all like thirty dollars worth of snacks." You both snickered quietly before Eddie turned his attention back to the party, currently debating on retreating or not. You could tell the way his incepted mind was conceiving a sentence, standing up.
"Hey," He exclaimed, catching the attention of the group. "If I may interject, gentlemen...Lady Applejack. Whilst I respect the passion, you may want to take Gareth the Great's concern to heart. There's no shame in running. Don't try to be heroes. Not today, kay?" He gave a sweet grin, but you could see what he was doing. Pushing them to continue with sweet denial. It seemed to work, as they re-huddled.
"Just as clever as ever," You muttered to yourself, watching Dustin and Erica. You didn't notice Eddie gazing up at you, carefully pinching his bottom lip. He could swear he knew you. Somewhere, he had seen your face. Those e/c eyes were unforgettable; yet somehow he had.
You grinned at Dustin, nodding to him as he took a deep breath, "Let's kill this son of a bitch."
"It's a suicide missions! The odds are 1/20!"
"Never. Tell me. The odds. Give me the D20," Dustin stated, puffing up his chest as he slung his hand out. You looked down at Eddie, seeing his shit eating grin. You could get used to this.
You watched as they attempted one last time to slaughter the villain before then. You leaned over Munson, biting your lip as you watched the first roll. You sucked in harshly, backing away and gripping your hair in worry.
The party groaned as their Dungeon Master laughed, swaying his head, "That's, a, missssss!"
Erica held the dice hesitantly. She looked to you, immediately understanding what her eyes pleaded. Stepping up to the plate you closed your eyes and wished, lightly blowing on the dice. Holding her shoulder, you watched closely as the dice rolled across the table. Erica and you held your breath, grasping each other's hand. Leaning over the table, everyone was on edge as they waited for the final blow; only who would it be going to?
You gasped as the dice finally stopped, Erica shouting, "It hits!" You screamed excitedly, hugging her and laughing excitedly.
"You did it! You slayed Vecna!" You breathed, everyone patting each other. Eddie bent over the table, giving a slight bow.
After cleaning up, you all headed outside, chatting about the match. You watched from behind, slipping on your jacket.
"Nice patches," The curly dark haired menace called from behind you. "Boyfriend a major metal head, or are you?"
You couldn't help but smile, leaning against a wall, "No boyfriend, so, I think it's me." The man nodded and chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck. You spotted Chrissy shuffling around and excused yourself. She jumped when you approached, making you worry.
"Oh, y/n! It's just you ..wait, why weren't you at the game?" Chrissy asked, holding your hands.
"I uh, kind of had a prearranged agreement. Did you guys win?"
"Yeah! Yeah, it was... it was great." You could sense something was wrong, looking around and pulling her off to the side.
"Hey is something going on?" You asked tenderly, rubbing the shivering cheerleader's shoulder. "You've been acting kind of weird today."
She looked around, paranoia painting her eyes, "Ok so um... I'm sort of, maybe not super ok? But it's alright, I think I'm getting help. Sort of."
You eyed her closely, "What kind of help?"
"..d-drugs?"
"Drugs!?" You exclaimed, perking up and looking around before leaning in and being quieter. "Drugs Chrissy? I mean I'm not going to say anything, you know I smoke, but, are you sure about this?" You sighed in defeat as she nodded and you took a deep breath. "Where are you getting them? Are you sure you can trust them?"
She nodded faster, "Yes! Eddie Munson, he, he's been really kind, and he's promised something that'll make whatever's going on go away." Your face went slack. Of course it was Eddie Munson. You dragged your hands down your face before pulling out a cigarette and lighting it with a shakey hand.
"Ok, fine. If I hadn't just spent like the last hour with him, I'd say you're an idiot but he's ..well he's actually kind of a gentleman."
"Will you go with me?" The blonde pleaded, making you cough and choke on your own smoke. "Y-you don't have to! I would just feel, I don't know, better?" God how you wanted to say no. That begging face of hers was impossible to deny though. And, a part, a small part of you, really wanted to see Eddie more. It was deathly apparent your middle school crush on him hadn't actually disappeared, just been suppressed. Or something like that.
Pushing back some hair you scrunched your face, "Ok, yeah, fine." The cheerleader gave a shy grin, squeezing your hand gratefully. Shaking your head, you pulled her along, waiting for the kids to have left before whistling to Eddie. He looked between the two of you, confused. You gave a look of knowing, nudging your head to the side as a sign to 'get out of there'.
His mouth formed an 'o' before grinning and giving a thumbs up, running over, "So, are you another customer or?"
You took a long drag of your cigarette, shaking your head, "Company only. Not a big weed kind of gal."
He raised his hands up, smiling as usual, "Not a problem with me sweetheart," You felt your ears burn at the nickname. "Well, the more the merrier right? C'mon, I'll show you to my van." You hesitated. You supposed you could always come back tomorrow and get your car, right? Yeah, Steve could totally drop you off. Patting Chrissy's back slightly, you gave a reassuring smile. She seemed so... off. Something was definitely bothering her immensely, especially if she was willing to turn to drugs.
"Can you, can you sit in the front?" Asked Chrissy quietly. "He seems to like you, and I'm too nervous."
Your heart flatlined for what felt like a long minute. Chrissy's petite hands waving in front of your face snapped you back, shaking the nerves off.
"Yeah, yeah ok," You smiled and patted her back. Getting up in the front, you couldn't help the smell of the van infiltrating your nostrils. Obviously the smell of weed, but also, the smell of his cologne. It was oddly wonderful. You heard Chrissy slide into the back, turning your body and giving her a reassuring look. You jerked when a hand slammed into the back of your seat, Eddie twisting his body to back out. His hand was so close, taking a moment to admire his silver rings. They were so big, surely they were impractical. But, he made them look really nice.
Turning your head slightly, you realized your faces were actually fairly close, as he leaned over to see better. Your ears burned again, gazing over his features. He'd gotten so handsome. You couldn't help but notice his slight stubble, and goodness his hair was unruly, but honestly it suited him. You were startled when his gaze turned to you, quickly adjusting to look out the window. How many times had he caught you staring at that point? You shut your eyes, internally screaming.
On the way to the infamous trailer, it'd gotten awkwardly quiet. Munson cleared his throat and turned on the radio, flicking through the stations. You leaned your head on the car window, playing with the pin on your collar. Leslie Gore came on, and you couldn't help but laugh. You hummed along to 'It's my Party', smiling to yourself about the fond memory. When you felt eyes bearing into the back of your head, you faced the driver. He had stopped mid-changing the station, sort of just staring at you. Which, you were at a stop sign, but still.
"Uh... eyes on the road, Munson," You joked, chuckling. The unruly haired man nodded and cleared his throat, going back to driving y'all to the trailer park. His hands seemed to grip the steering wheel, making you fiddle with the pin a little harder.
"So, what did you think of the old 'dice game'?" Eddie casually brought up, drumming his fingers against the wheel. You thought back to how pumped everyone got, smiling to yourself.
"It's actually really fun looking. I still don't think I could do all that complicated stuff. Plus I have rotten luck," You snorted, peeking out the window.
"Aw, c'mon, don't be so modest. I saw you counting hit points. You, uh, move your lips a little bit when you count," He grinned, eyes shifting to you momentarily.
You timidly moved some h/c locks behind your ear, "Just cause I can count doesn't mean I'd be good at it." Part of you wondered how long he'd been watching you to figure that out. Sure, it was a habit you'd picked up from your dad, and one didn't have to look too hard to figure it out. Still. It made you think.
"What if I helped?" He sighed dramatically. "Helping damsels is the first call to adventure, sweetheart. I'd even be willing to do it for free." Winking, the man turned into the trailer park. Snickering, you nudged his elbow with your own.
"I think I'd rather have Henderson explain," He looked mildly offended, and you'd stuck a finger out. "Only because he's already offered."
Munson rolled his eyes, "Little twerp beat me to the punch, huh?"
"Yep," You made a popping sound on the p, hopping out once the van came to a complete stop. Helping Chrissy out, you checked on her.
"Yeah, yeah I'm ok y/n. Let's just uh, go inside," She muttered, holding onto your sleeve. You nodded and led your cheerleader friend inside, Eddie holding the door open for the both of you. Despite the obvious mess, the trailer felt sort of cozy. You bit back a giggle as the man rushed to pick up cans, apologizing for the mess. Taking off your jacket, you draped it on the couch.
"Do you live here alone?" Cunningham questioned.
"Uh, no, with my uncle he works the night shifts at the factory. Bringing in the big bucks," He chuckled, looking through the drawers. "Shit."
"Sure you have what you're looking for, Munson?" You teased, grinning.
"Yeah, yeah, it's in one of these cabinets. Just, gimmie a second," He trailed off, heading to a back room. You looked around, curious. You didn't really see any pictures, though you remembered Eddie's uncle from the few times you'd met him. He was a kind old man; thought the world of Eddie. He knew his nephew wasn't a freak like everyone made him out to be.
Hearing the unsteady breaths of the blonde behind you, you carefully stepped up to her, "Hey, you ok Chrissy? We can go if you need, ok?"
"No, no, I'm, no I'm fine, can you," She turned to the window and back to you. "Can you help him? O-Or tell him to hurry up?" You furrowed your brows, rubbing her arms gently before nodding and speed walking to the back.
"Hey, Ed's, did you- woah," You gasped quietly, seeing the gorgeous instrument, strung up in front of his mirror.
"Hm? Oh yeah," He grinned at you before going back to rummaging through his container. "Beautiful, ain't she?"
"Jesus Christ you can say that again," You scoffed in disbelief, hovering your fingers over the base of the guitar.
"Hey, hey, hey, hey!" His hand lightly ghosted yours, skin prickling from the sensation. Your gaze snapped up to his, seeing his perplexing expression. You couldn't tell what exactly was going through his head; you liked to imagine it might be what was going on in yours. "Uh, no offense but, I don't usually let people touch Baby on the first date."
"What, and this is a date?" You retorted back, quieter than you had meant it to be, no power behind the query at all. His jaw shifted, and you felt his cold rings drag across your skin. Everything in your body was used to keep from shivering.
He didn't really answer the question, just moving some of his hair back, "I found the stuff. We should probably get back to Chrissy before she wears a path on the carpet?"
You reluctantly nodded and led the way, threading your fingers through your hair. You paused, face contorting in confusion as you saw your best friend, feeling odd in the current atmosphere. It was like a ton of books were resting against your chest, and someone just kept adding more.
"Chrissy?" You questioned, stopping before the entry point into the living area. You looked over at Eddie, who was just as confused as you were.
"Chrissy?" Eddie said louder, waving his hand in the air. You didn't like this. Your hair stood on end, gripping the counter. Something was extremely wrong here. "Hello?" He took a quick step toward her. "Chrissy!"
"Chrissy, hey!" You clapped, walking closer. Her eyes were rolled back into her head, dread consuming every fiber of your being.
Eddie clapped in her face, telling her it was time to wake up, trying to break her out of whatever trance she was in. The lights started to flicker and you jumped back, bumping against the counter.
"Chrissy, it's time to wake up now!" You croaked, joining Munson and shaking her arms.
"Chrissy! Chrissy wake up, I don't like this Chrissy wake up!" He yelled, shaking her vigorously. You clapped against her ear, shouting at her to wake up.
You grabbed her face, feeling moments from a panic attack, "Chrissy! Dammit it stop!"
"Chrissy, it's time to wake up now!" The lights started to flicker more frantically, feeling like you were staring into a strobe light. Shouting, screaming, you begged the cheerleader to wake up. You nearly jumped out of your pants when she started to get taller. No, not taller, no, no, no, it was much worse. She was levitating. Just legitimately, flying upward, like she was connected to a harness. You and Eddie both leaped away.
"What the!---" Eddie rasped as you rushed to grab her ankle.
"Chrissy, Chrissy!" You shouted. Suddenly she shot towards the ceiling, causing you to fall back. You swore you could hear the faint sound of a clock chime. Trying to pick yourself up was an impossible task. You felt someone pulling you back, but you were too focused, too zoned on Chrissy to realize your body's desperate attempt to get away. Sickening cracking sounds echoed against the walls as her poor body bent as it was never meant to, becoming a tangled memory of what she once was. Grasping onto Eddie, you'd never screamed so hard in your life, a sob mixed in somewhere. Your ears picked up on Eddie's scream too, realizing finally that this wasn't some hallucination you'd cooked up; it was far too real. Her eyes. Oh god, her eyes. It was like they were sucked inside her head.
Barely, you dodged her falling body, still screaming as you stared at her corpse.
"Chrissy! Chrissy!" You screamed, sobbing and trying to grab onto her. "Chrissy, fuck!" You felt the familiar sting of cold from Eddie's ring pulling you up from the ground, pushing your jacket into your arms.
"Y/n, we gotta get the fuck out of here!" He yelled, snatching his keys off the table. Your mind was too frantic to argue, rushing out of the house with him and jumping in the van. Slamming the door shut, you didn't even put your seat belt on as Eddie sped off.
It hadn't happened. It hadn't really happened. You passed out in the van, or were high, or something, fuck, that hadn't just happened!
You felt yourself hyperventilating, "Eddie, Eddie what the actual fuck!"
"I don't know! Fuck, that was so fucked up, that was so fucked up, what the fuck!" He yelled, abusing the steering wheel.
You felt like you couldn't breathe. No, actually, you couldn't breathe. The panic attack had set in, and what, how could you forget how to breathe? You grasped the dashboard, trying to intake air.
"Fuck!" Was all you managed to get out in a desperate cry.
"Hey, hey, you gotta breathe ok, breathe!"
You knew he was right but, fuck Chrissy, fucking Chrissy, she was dead, really dead, fucking mangled and disfigured. What the fuck, how, how had that happen? Fuck, Chrissy! Your best friend was dead, what the fu-
Suddenly, Munson slammed on the breaks and you lunged forward, catching yourself. His hands grabbed your face, forcing you to look up at him.
"Y/n, I know that, whatever just happened, it was fucked up, and I, I don't honestly know what the fuck just happened, but you need to breathe!" He took a deep breath in, and another one out. "Just in, and out, c'mon, breathe sweetheart, breathe." Following his example, you took trembling breaths, staring into his eyes. They looked pitch black in the night, and they were trained on you intensely. Bit by bit, you started to breathe normally again, pulling away from his hands and nodding.
"D-drive," You croaked, leaning back in the seat and gripping your hair. Fuck. What were you guys going to do? Eddie glanced over at you one last time before speeding back off into the night.
You needed to get somewhere safe. You hoped Eddie knew a place like that.